Using a heart-rate monitor while you train is a little like using the tachometer in your car. Just like your vehicle is happiest when driven at certain rpms, exercising at an effective intensity level will help you make the most of your training time. There’s a lot to know about using a heart-rate monitor and training, much more than we can cover here. But we can offer a few guidelines and point you toward sources of more information.

Beat Basics
A basic rule is that the harder one exercises, the higher the heart rate. Also, the longer you ride the higher your heart rate goes for the same amount of effort and workload. This is a phenomenon known as cardiac drift.

Below the 65-percent minimum intensity level you won’t see much improvement in aerobic capacity, one of the biggest factors in determining how fit you are. But, exercising at higher levels isn’t really necessary if your goal is mainly improving your fitness or losing weight.

Race Training
If you’re training to race, the amount of time you spend in each zone varies throughout the year. In early season, spend virtually all of your riding time in the aerobic zone. Late in the year, incorporate intervals and sprints that take your heart rate into the higher zones. Because cycling is mainly an aerobic sport, even during late season riding, around 60 percent of your riding time should be spent in the aerobic zone. As your fitness improves, you’ll see your resting heart rate start to drop.

Heart HealthTo gauge yourself day to day, check your heart rate first thing in the morning and keep track of it. If your heart rate is high when you first get up, it’s a sign that you may be tired from overtraining and that you should take it easy.

These are just some basic guidelines. Most heart-rate monitors include manuals. Read yours for more information. We’ve also got great training books that detail how to use your heart-rate monitor to train effectively and efficiently. And, if you’re just beginning a fitness program or have been inactive for more than a few weeks, consult your physician.

Since we know most of you will start off the New Year thinking about fitness and training, we would offer a few tips to consider about heart-rate monitors.

Today’s heart-rate monitors are pretty amazing. We recommend the wireless type because they’re accurate and user-friendly. They come in two pieces, a belt that’s worn around your chest (the transmitter) and a watch (the receiver) that’s worn around your wrist (or placed on the handlebar).

To use a wireless heart-rate monitor, you simply wet the surfaces of the transmitters on the belt and wrap the belt around your chest. Attach the watch to your wrist or bars and you’re wired for heart rate. In use, the chest transmitter picks up your heart beat and sends a signal to the receiver on your wrist, which displays your current pulse. So, you now know exactly how hard your heart is working at all times.

The great thing about heart-rate monitors is that they help gauge one’s fitness so you can plan your training based on good data about your current fitness level. They also allow you to accurately gauge your effort so you can make sure you’re working hard enough and so that you can ensure you’re resting, if you’re in recovery mode after too long or hard a ride.

A myriad of features are available in modern heart-rate monitors, such as memory functions and downloadability. Which model you use should be based on how much you wish to spend and what features you think you’ll use. Some of the most basic HRMs, which only provide a readout of heart rate, are very popular exactly because they are so simple (also, the least expensive). There are no complicated features to confuse you.

If you’d like a more features-laden model, nice options to have include average heart rate, so you can tell your heart-rate level during a workout; programmable alarms that sound if you’re going too easy and/or too hard; and memory, which lets you play back a ride and see your pulse’s peaks and valleys. There are also HRMs that are part of a full-function cyclo-computer, which means that besides pulse, you get a readout of all your favorite ride data, too, such as mph, average and top speed, distance, etc.

If you’re interested in this important training tool, come in and we can demonstrate the latest models. Keep in mind that some even double as wristwatches so you can use them off the bike, too.